India court quashes Dhoni’s ‘God’ case

Supreme Court says a lower court in southern Karnataka state had wrongly summoned India's ODI captain over the case


Afp September 05, 2016
MS Dhoni. PHOTO: AFP

NEW DELHI: India’s top court quashed criminal proceedings on Monday against ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni over a magazine cover depicting him as a Hindu god.

The Supreme Court said a lower court in southern Karnataka state had wrongly summoned Dhoni over the case, one of several brought mainly by Hindu nationalists accusing him of hurting religious sentiments.

“(We) quash the proceedings including the summoning order against the accused... we have taken note of the complaint and the offence alleged while passing this order,” said a bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, according to the Press Trust of India.

Business Today cover page. PHOTO COURTESY: The Huffington Post India

Dhoni wants more matches in US despite washout

The controversy dates back to 2013 when Business Today magazine ran a drawing portraying Dhoni as Hindu god Vishnu, holding various products representing his wide-ranging endorsement deals, including a shoe.

Hindu nationalists lodged criminal complaints to police against him in different parts of the religiously diverse but Hindu-majority country, although most were later dismissed.

Spinners to play key role in Windies, says Dhoni

The Supreme Court stayed criminal proceedings against Dhoni last year after he appealed against the case in the Karnataka High Court lodged by an activist -- before the top court quashed the proceedings on Monday.

The top court also stayed in January an arrest warrant issued for Dhoni by a lower court in southern Andhra Pradesh state for failing to answer repeated summons to appear there over the same issue.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ